Without Sponsor Amid Coronavirus, Dutee Chand Puts BMW on Sale to Cover Training Costs

India’s sprint ace Dutee Chand has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic quite badly, and has now put her BMW up for sale to help cover her training expenses.

Dutee posted on social media the pictures of car seeking prospective buyers for it. However, she later deleted the post.

Dutee owns a 2015 BMW 3-series model, which she had bought for Rs 30 lakh.

"No sponsor is willing to spend on me due to this pandemic. I am in need of money and so have decided to sell it off to meet my training and diet expenses as I'm preparing for the Tokyo Olympic, which has been shifted to July 11, 2021, due to Covid-19 Outbreak," Dutee Chand was quoted as saying by India Today.

"Even (State) Government people are saying they are going through a financial crunch."

The sprinter had bought the car after receiving a reward from the Odisha government for her performances in the Asian Games. She won Silver medals in the 100m and 200m events in Jakarta in 2018.

Dutee recently broke her own national record at the National Open Athletics in Ranchi in October 2019 as she bettered her own national 100m record. The sprinter clocked a 11.22 seconds in the first semi-finals, bettering her record of 11.26 seconds.

Also Read: Had Invested Heavily in Preparations Pre-Olympics, Will Start from Scratch Again: Dutee Chand

"I bought it after I received a cash reward of Rs 3 crore from Orissa CM Naveen Pattnaik for my achievement in Asian Games, on that money, I built my house and purchased the BMW Car."

After the Facebook post, comments started pouring in seeking government intervention to help her. Later, she deleted the post.

"Since I have two other cars with me, also there is not enough space for 3 cars at my Residence, so I want to sell one."

Dutee has shared the pictures of her car on her Facebook page with a message in Odia "I want to sell my BMW car. If anyone wants to buy, contact me on messenger."

The Government had also granted Rs 50 lakh for her training for Tokyo Olympics, she said, she spends around Rs 5 lakh a month on her training which includes salaries of coach, physiotherapists, dietician and other purposes.

"I exhausted all my money. It is now difficult to get sponsors due to Covid-19 pandemic for my training for the Tokyo Olympics which has been shifted to July 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"I need money for my fitness expenses and training in Germany, I decided to sell my luxury car," added Dutee Chand.